Somalia: Car bomb inside hospital compound leaves one dead

A car bomb
exploded in Mogadishu at around 7.30 this morning inside the
compound of Keysaney Hospital, a facility run by the Somali
Red Crescent Society with support from the International
Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). One person was killed and
seven others were injured in the blast.

The victim, a
medical student, was not a Somali Red Crescent staff member.
Of the seven people injured, two are Red Crescent nurses,
the five others – including one woman who sustained severe
injuries – patients' relatives. All are currently
receiving treatment at the hospital.

According to the
Somali Red Crescent, the explosion took place in the area
where hospital staff park their cars. "The bomb exploded in
a car belonging to one of our staff," said Somali Red
Crescent Vice-President Yusuf Hassan Mohamed. "It exploded
when the engine was switched on by one of his friends, who
was killed on the spot."

"We do not know the
motives behind this incident or whether the target was an
individual or the hospital itself," said Patrick Vial, head
of the ICRC delegation in Somalia. The Somali Red Crescent
and the ICRC are calling with renewed urgency for
health-care facilities and personnel, and their patients, to
be treated with special restraint. People providing or
receiving health care should be protected at all times and
not be the object of attacks.

Keysaney Hospital, a 65-bed
emergency facility in Mogadishu, has provided surgical and
other medical care for more than 20 years, treating an
average of 3,000 patients each year. It admits all persons
in need of treatment, regardless of their origin, clan
affiliation or political views. This is the first time the
hospital, where the red crescent emblem is prominently
displayed, has been hit directly except by random shelling
during the conflict.

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